Meet Adam Baldwin of 'Chuck': Will Palin Replace Reagan?

Today's cuppa: coffee at the hotel during the biannual Television Critics Association Press Tour
On Monday, "Chuck" returns for a new episode after
scoring good ratings in its debut last week. But if you think you know all there is to know about geek-turned-spy Chuck Bartowski's (Zachary Levi) loyal protector Col. John Casey and the actor who plays him, I beg to differ.

Below find a syndicated profile I did of Baldwin, and let the learning begin ...

From "Full Metal Jacket" to "Independence Day" to "Firefly," Adam Baldwin often plays two-fisted guys with itchy trigger fingers. His character on NBC's spy dramedy "Chuck," which returned for its third season with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, Jan. 10 (it then moved to its regular timeslot on Monday, Jan. 11), isn't a whole lot different.

Colonel (formerly major) John Casey works for the NSA. He's unabashedly patriotic, likes bonsai trees and keeps a photo of Ronald Reagan in his apartment. Or at least he used to have one.

"In regards to Sarah Palin and the speculation that Casey might have a picture of her to update the Reagan photo," says
Baldwin
, "I think we'll keep Reagan around, if not in photo form then certainly in bust form.

"And if we're going to have a picture of Sarah Palin, then ... that'll never get through. Certainly my character would go for it."

Baldwin has a good sense of humor about his image, one he shares with former "Terminator 2," "The X-Files" and "The Unit" star Robert Patrick, who guest stars on "Chuck" this season as Col. Keller, a figure from Casey's past. (
Baldwin
also guest starred in an "X-Files" episode with Patrick.)

Baldwin recalls sitting with Patrick in a golf cart, shuttling back and forth to rehearsals on the Warner Bros. set.

"I said, 'Hey, Patrick, fellow double sci-fi icon.' He said, 'Yes, Adam, fellow double sci-fi, crossover icon.' The guy who was driving us, I think I turned to him at one point and said, 'Did you realize you were driving around two double crossover sci-fi icons?' And he said, 'I-I-I can barely contain myself. I don't know what to say.' He's a big sci-fi fan.

"It was really cool, so we were making that joke all day, 'Oh, double sci-fi icon.' 'Yes, double crossover sci-fi icon.' "

Birthplace:
Chicago
, on Feb. 27, making him a Pisces (and not related to those other Baldwins, who are from
New York
's
Long Island
)

Favorite book: "My favorite book is 'A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles,' by Thomas Sowell. It basically breaks down why you have two main sets of belief systems that people find themselves in, in political conflicts - the constrained vision and the unconstrained vision. The constrained vision is one that understands man as a tragic animal, and the unconstrained vision believes in the perfectibility of man, in Utopian society, which is unattainable and leads to destruction."

Favorite music:"Let's see - Led Zeppelin for sure. I love Yes, Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' and 'The Wall' are my two favorite albums. So Pink Floyd is complex, wonderful rock 'n' roll, just great."